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Sonos doesn’t make computer speakers. And despite how closely some of its speakers look the part (specifically the Play:1, One, One SL and new Era 100), that’s not how they were intended to be used. That said, if you’re dead set on using Sonos speakers as your computer’s default speakers, it is possible — and it’s especially easy if you have a Mac.
It wasn’t always very easy to turn your Sonos speakers into your Mac speakers, but that changed in 2021 when Apple rolled out its Big Sur 11.3 macOS update. This allows you to better use any speaker that supports AirPlay 2 as your Mac’s default speakers. It’s not a perfect solution — and we’ll get into that shortly — but it’s easier and better than it was in past years.
In short: The process of using one or two Sonos speakers (the latter for a stereo pair) as your Mac’s default speakers is very similar to how you would use one or two HomePods as your Mac’s default speakers. You need stereo pair the two speakers — must be the same model of speaker, so two Ones or two Play:1s — within the Sonos app, and then you stream audio to them from your Mac via AirPlay.
How to Stereo Pair Your Sonos Speakers
You can only stereo pair two of the same model of Sonos speakers. This means you need two Play:1s, two Ones, two Era 100s or two Fives, for example. You can not create a stereo pair with different model Sonos speakers, like a One and an Era 100. SL and non-SL varieties of a speaker count as the same speaker, for pairing purposes. You can create a stereo pair with a One and a One SL, or a Roam and a Roam SL.
Before creating a stereo pair, both Sonos speakers need to powered on,